The Spirit of '76

The Spirit of '76

October 12, 1990

Columbia

Comedy, Sci-Fi, Historical

DVD
B-

This is even more of a decade-straddler than its peers, since not only was it filmed in the summer of 1989, but it's mostly set in the summer of 1976.  If this sounds a little early for '70s nostalgia, you're correct.  The film was made for a low budget and didn't make much back.  Even "writer 'n director" Lucas Reiner (son of Carl, who plays Dr. Von Mobil, and little brother of Rob, who is the est-like Dr. Cash) admits on the commentary that they should've waited at least another four or five years.  By the mid-'90s, The Brady Bunch hit the big screen, twice, and before long That '70s Show became very popular on the little screen.

The slight premise, in a not quite rip-off of Bill & Ted, is that three people from 2176 (played by David Cassidy, Wonder Years' Olivia d'Abo, and Geoff Hoyle, who was Scoop the Reporter in Popeye) use a time machine (made out of two hot tubs, much more '70s than B & T's phone booth) to go to 1776 and rediscover what America was founded on, but the machine malfunctions by a couple centuries.  Luckily, it's the Fourth of July, and the Bicentennial, and Julie Brown as "lusty Miss Liberty" is among those who "explain" the founding principles.

The movie is full of '70s touches.  In fact, it's arguably all style and not much substance.  There's enough to look at and listen to that you probably won't much mind.  From Pop Rocks to pop music, much of what you remember (or at least have heard of) about the '70s is represented, including very colorful costumes designed by a teenaged Sofia Coppola.  There are also a lot of cameos, from people I associate more with the '80s (Devo, Moon Unit Zappa) to authentically '70s icons like Iron Eyes Cody and Leif Garrett, the latter in a scene-stealing role as "Eddie Trojan," brother to the insufferable Rodney Snodgrass (played by nobody you've heard of).  There are moments when L. Reiner parodies various '70s movie conventions, like the Inevitable Car Chase, but the movie remains more goofy than clever.

Note, the sci-fi is, per budget, not particularly well done, but it is fun to see the hand-held devices that the futuristic trio use to type, call, and take pictures with.  Who knew?

Arnold F. Turner, who's Voice Talent here, would be Officer Axelrod in The Brady Bunch Movie.

All of Me

All of Me
September 21, 1984
Universal
Comedy, Romance, Fantasy
DVD
B-

Although this movie, based on the book Me Two, which I haven't read, has the makings of a classic farce, most of the time it plays like an above average sitcom.  (Carl Reiner was the director, but this is not equivalent to what his son Rob was doing at the time.)  I really enjoyed the movie when I saw it on first release, so I made sure to buy the DVD for this project, but it didn't live up to my memories.  (Similar to Roxanne, which we'll get to later.)  Not that this movie isn't entertaining, but it only achieves magic at the end, when the characters played by Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin, who have fallen in love while sharing his body (her soul accidentally moving in next to his) and are now living separately but more together than ever, have a joyful, silly dance together, shown to us in a mirror, since that's the only way her spirit exists after her death.  I know I'm explaining this strangely, but it is an odd movie, despite its use of cliches.  Not only is there a farce trapped inside a sitcom, but there's also a missed chance to explode rather than embrace gender (and racial) stereotypes.  (Tootsie this isn't.)  No one breaks free but it's an interesting struggle.

This time Eric Christmas (by then 68) plays Fred Hoskins.  Neil Elliot, who's the cabbie here, was "Neil" in Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding!  Hardhat Nicholas Shields was Gorilla in Elevator in Thank God It's Friday.  Gailard Sartain, who's Fulton Norris here, was B. B. Muldoon in Roadie.  Dana Elcar, who plays Martin's boss, was Maxwell Smart's boss in The Nude Bomb.  Richard Libertini, who plays Prahka Lasa, was Geezil in Popeye.

Minister David Byrd would be Dr. Hugo Bronfenbrenner in The Hudsucker Proxy.  Victoria Tennant, who plays the duplicitous Terry Hoskins, met Martin on the set and they were married for a few years.

Gidget Goes Hawaiian

Gidget Goes Hawaiian
June 21, 1961
Columbia
Comedy, Musical
VHS
B+

This is an utterly delightful sequel, improving on the original in every regard.  No offence to Sandra Dee, but I think this is a great debut for Deborah Walley, then almost 20.  She could actually surf and this would be far from her last beach movie.  She's spunky in a different way than Dee, more obviously tomboyish, and she actually comes across as more innocent.  (Ironic, considering her AIP roles.)  She even has a bit of chemistry with James Darren, who stops being a jerk for the last 20 or 30 minutes of the movie.

Instead of just a triangle, we get a nine-sided group of teens and post-teens, with various pairings possible, although if the movie does have a weakness, it's that two of the guys and two of the girls are forgettable.  The other girl, Abby, is played by the deliciously feline Vicki Trickett.  (She's even scared of water, which pays off in her "punishment" at the end.)  Moondoggie's main rival is Michael Callan, playing a charming dancer, Eddie Horner.  (He gets saddled with a Broadway-Melody-Ballet-like number, but it's shorter and more bearable.)  Joby Baker actually plays a different character in this one (not just his nickname, since Judge has never met Gidget or Moondoggie before), and he adds to the hokey comedy.  Not that the film isn't genuinely funny much of the time.

It helps that Gidget's parents and Abby's are played by respectively Carl Reiner, Jeff Donnell (she nicknamed herself after "Mutt and Jeff," not after Moondoggie's birth name), Peggy Cass, and Eddie Foy, Jr.  They get a lot of screen time and they deserve it.  Not only do they all know how to make the most of out of their lines, but they manage to make Gidget's suspicions of wife-swapping plausible.  Yes, wife-swapping, although it's not called that.  She has a vivid imagination, and when Abby spreads rumors that Gidget sleeps around (not that it's called that), Gidget imagines herself as, in order, a streetwalker, a fan-dancer, and an unwed mother!  The movie is surprisingly outrageous, and even has jokes about suicide.  Yet it never comes across as sleazy.  Even when Moondoggie, Eddie, and Judge are singing the title tune and 'Doggie emphasizes, "When the Gidget goes Hawaiian, she goes Hawaiian all the way," it's suggestive, not tasteless.

This is the most fun movie of the '60s so far.  I will note in terms of continuity, that this is allegedly set the summer after the first movie, making Gidget almost 18.  Jeff pinning her is changed to this year rather than last.  I'll talk more about chronology when we get to Gidget Goes to Rome, also written by Ruth Brooks Flippen.

Donnell would return as Mrs. Lawrence for GG to Rome, but Foy would be "Beachgoer Wanting to Use Phone."  Don Edmonds, who plays forgettable guy Larry, would do Beach Ball.